In the modern world, in news releases or informational articles on the Internet, one can often find such a thing as "escalation of the conflict." To understand what it means, you need to know the definition of the word "escalation", as well as understand what conflicts there are.
Origin and definition of terms
Escalation is a term that can be translated as "escalation". Literally means climbing stairs. That is, the use of this term is always closely related to situations or events in which, in one way or another, something is forced or increased.
Conflict - the word has Latin roots (conflictus - collision). That is, during any conflict, there are at least two parties that cannot come to any solution or compromise. The conflict can be both between people and their groups, and between states.
Types of conflicts
Interpersonal conflict is the simplest form of collision that occurs between two or more people. As a rule, it arises from a dispute in which the parties cannot come to a consensus or a solution to the problem. A long dispute smoothly turns into a conflict, which in itself is an escalation (that is, the tension between the parties gradually increases). The escalation of a conflict without the possibility of resolving it peacefully often ends in violence.
Armed conflict - a conflict involving the use of various weapons, arises as a rule in situations where it is no longer possible to resolve the issue peacefully. In terms of scale, it can be both local (between small armed groups) and full-scale (between several states).
Economic conflict is a form of dispute in which finance and resources play a key role. Despite the fact that the economic interests of states often become the subject of political conflicts, economic interests can exist separately. For example conflicts between large corporations. In such disputes, all the tools of economic influence on the market are used, one of the most common is dumping - an intentional reduction in product prices in order to inflict losses on a competitor company. One of the main causes of economic conflicts is monopoly - an attempt by one company or corporation to establish sole ownership of one of the areas of activity in the market.
A political conflict can arise both between opposing parties within one country and between states. Internal state conflicts are usually resolved peacefully: long debates with the provision of weighty arguments or evidence of the correctness of one of the parties. Interstate conflicts are sometimes associated with weapons, and when escalated, they can turn into an armed phase.
Escalating conflict in psychology
The escalation of a conflict in psychology is defined as the development of a dispute that progresses over time. There is a gradual aggravation between the opposing sides, in which the force of destructive influences becomes more intense. During escalation, an adequate perception of the opponent is replaced by the image of the enemy. The level of emotional stress is growing.
Insults and claims are increasingly used instead of arguments. Then the root cause of the dispute that has begun is lost - the opponents get so deep into the conflict that the root of the problem fades into the background. During the escalation, other participants can be drawn into the scandal: an interpersonal dispute develops into an intergroup one. Another clear feature of the escalation of the conflict is the use of violence as a "last resort", and everything can end in disaster.
In some cases, violence is used as revenge, more often in an attempt to compensate for the damage caused in the course of a dispute. In any case, it can end in disastrous not only for the disputants themselves or for strangers, but also (which is completely unacceptable) for children, if we are talking about a protracted family conflict. Therefore, it is better to solve the problems that have arisen right away - to tactfully explain the claims and look for a compromise together.
Escalating conflict in politics
The most striking example of a political conflict is the Cold War, a protracted rivalry between the two superpowers, the US and the USSR. Almost immediately after the end of World War II, disputes began to arise between the victor countries over the future influence on the countries of Europe. The issue of redistribution of land was also raised. The beginning of the protracted conflict was also the presence of nuclear weapons in the United States (Joseph Stalin personally ordered the creation of his own atomic bomb).
In the Cold War, almost all forms of conflict were present at different stages, both superpowers sought to increase their political influence over the rest of the world, and sought to impose their economic relations on small countries. All this time, the whole world was on the brink of an armed conflict, which could escalate into a third world war.
The first fruits of the irreconcilable struggle between socialist and capitalist ideologies brought about in 1947. The US leadership adopted the Marshall Plan, and the President of the country issued a personal initiative, which was called the Truman Doctrine. In fact, the United States began an active struggle against the communist system in various countries of the world. The "Marshall Plan" was to provide financial assistance to eliminate the consequences of the war to everyone, and in return, the agreed countries were obliged to expel the communists from the government.
The Soviet Union, on the contrary, established a socialist regime of government in the countries that supported it and received assistance. So in defeated Germany, divided between the Union and the States, the escalation of the conflict led to absurd consequences. The capital of the country, Berlin, was demarcated between the GDR (pro-communist) and Germany (pro-capitalist) by a huge ugly wall.
With the coming to power of Khrushchev in the USSR, a period of the so-called Khrushchev thaw began. Since 1953, the level of tension between the countries began to subside. Over the course of ten years, relations gradually improved, but in 1962 an incident occurred that again escalated the conflict: an American spy plane was shot down in the skies over the Soviet Union. The escalation was also facilitated by the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979.
During the entire period of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR never reached an open military confrontation. But during this period, not a single local conflict was ignored: one way or another, both the states and the union took part there. Material and military support was provided in order to gain a foothold in the troubled region. Afghanistan became the last stage of open confrontation between the two superpowers, and after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from there, relations between the countries began to improve, and at the end of 1989 the Cold War officially ended.
Escalating conflict today
Despite the end of the Cold War and attempts by Boris Yeltsin and George W. Bush to "make friends", the conflict between the superpowers has not gone anywhere. Moreover, in the 2000s, attempts to get closer to each other gradually came to naught, and today the tension is growing rapidly, drawing other countries into a dangerous confrontation. Ideological struggle has long gone down in history, and resources are becoming the main factor in today's rivalry.
Control over territories rich in minerals is becoming almost the main definition of today's world politics. Now any country, even a little bit prosperous, is trying to pinch off its piece. China has emerged among the big players on the world stage. The Celestial Empire's policy surprisingly combines maximum neutrality and non-intervention during armed conflicts and aggressive, almost barbaric extraction of minerals and other useful resources.
In the shadow of endless economic confrontation and political ugliness, a monstrous phenomenon - terrorism - was born and gained strength. Scum hiding their faces under black masks today are able to dictate their terms to entire countries. And their actions around the world create endless hotbeds of conflict. Terrorism in our time is becoming the main source of escalation of conflicts and world tension.
